Snapshot Location // Gosport // Hampshire // England

Gosport // Hampshire Map

Steeped in Naval, Military and Nautical history, the harbour town of Gosport is situated South of the Forest of Bere, west of Portsmouth and east of Southampton. I was a teenager when I first moved to the coastal town. I returned in my mid twenties and here for the moment I call this town, home.

Residents of the town are within easy access by ferry, train, bus or automobile to reach Portsmouth whilst the hovercraft and ferry services offer passage to the ancient Isle of Wight. Southampton can be reached by land transport. From any one of the three pebble beaches there are views across the Solent to the Island, Hythe, Fawley and The New Forest.

Haslar Marina // Gosport // KG

A popular shipping lane, providing routes for the worlds cargo containers, cruise ships and sailing yachts.
Most days yachts, ferries and tankers are visible from the beaches. In the summer races, rallies and water sports take place up and down the beaches, Stokes Bay, Lee-On-Solent and Hill Head beach.

Gosport Snapshots // KG

It's not just the scenic beaches that are popular, Gosport is home to several large marinas. Gosport Marina, Royal Clarence Marina and Haslar Marina. All locations have seen much development in recent years, mostly boasting luxurious living spaces, a handful or brasserie and seafood restaurants as well as walk-ways around the harbour.

Photograph by Rob Nunn

With an abundance of Victorian terraced houses, 1930's semi-detached properties and refurbished buildings, there's plenty of choice for house buyers and renters within the towns proximity.
It looks similar to other English towns, but for me the ocean covering three sides of Gosport makes it feel more like an island and certainly less landlocked than my scenic hometown in the Malverns.
As you head inland you come to the large housing estates of Rowner and Bridgemary, both of which play home to many of the young families in Gosport and host the two large secondary schools. Closer to the beach is Bay House school the third secondary school within the town, that lies within walking distance of Alverstoke village.

Alverstoke Village is another beautiful location, lying between Lee-On-Solent and Haslar Marina, it's older cottages and Edwardian properties are situated between the beach and the creek, while the original village still has it's own shop, pub, tea rooms and salon which sit just behind the large church.

While it's scenic views of rows of houses and beaches are to be admired, Gosport has not been left behind by the 21st Century. With a bustling high street that holds a market and home to chain brands while there are still independent stores, coffee houses and second hand shops, that give the town centre an eclectic mix of shopping with something to suit everyone.

With large supermarkets located in the town as well as just outside of the town, there's plenty of options for buying food, necessities and basics. If you'd prefer more natural there are several garden centres located outside of Stubbington and Titchfield Villages.

Gosport // KG

People tend to share the notion that Gosport is a has-been town, that once the Naval trades moved out, it was left dilapidated, but as a non-Gosport born resident I can say that one thing this town has developed which most others seem to lack, is a community feel. Yes there is crime and yes there are properties that leave much to be desired but every town has those and to judge an entire population on the image of only a few hardly seems fair.

With it's community events, radio, studios and youth clubs Gosport has the potential to be a thriving town in the future.

Close enough to get to London and back comfortably in a day, with access to two large trade and industry cities, close to several large forests and nature reserves, bordering with five beautiful counties, Hampshire and Gosport in particular are perfectly lovely places to live and visit.

If you're visiting Gosport I'd highly recommend checking out the following destinations.

The Alverbank Hotel

The Alverbank Hotel  is a beautiful country house hotel that overlooks Stokes Bay beach. With a bar restaurant it's the perfect place to spend a few days in the Summer.
The Anglesey Hotel in Alverstoke also is a beautiful old hotel that sits on the terrace of white houses just a few minutes walk from the village. The bar has a beautiful garden for summer ciders and ales, or it's beautiful interior for keeping warm in the winter months.
The Old Lodge Hotel situated in Alverstoke Village is the third destination I would recommend staying for the duration of your visit. A short walk fro the beach and close to the church, this hotel is beautiful and luxurious.

If you'd like to learn about the Town's Marine industry check out The Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower and Gosport Diving Museum.
If you're more interested in the ancient history of the town, why not check out Little Woodham Living History Village. You can learn about ancient crafts, immerse yourself in middle ages Gosport life.

For somewhere to get lunch or coffee, try The Blue Bird cafe in Lee on Solent, Coffee #1 in Gosport High Street and for eats any of the restaurants dotted up and down Stoke Road.

Residents of Gosport have plenty of options for keeping fit, if running, skating or cycling along the seafront doesn't excite you, you could always try Gosport Leisure Centre, that boasts an impressive package of keep fit activities, from sports, to gym, pool activities and studio classes.

If further education is what you're seeking, you could attend St.Vincent College located a ten minute walk from the town centre, offering full time courses as well as adult education, there really is something to suit everybody.

If keeping fit and education aren't what your seeking from your spare time, how about checking out local arts events. From music festivals, to sporting events and theatre shows, Gosport is truly alive with the arts.

You can check out a number of the local bars that offer covers bands and tribute acts to dance to at the weekend, karaoke for the braver among you. Original live music comes in the form of Club Sandwich, a monthly gig night hosted by the directors of Quay West Studios (home of music in Gosport).

Located just outside of Gosport and the village of Titchfield is Titchfield Festival Theatre and their shows are something truly spectacular to behold!

If there's nothing you fancy in Gosport, then check out Southsea with it's abundance of music venues and theatre group, Hayling Island Station Theatre also hosts excellent performances.

Mostly Gosport is a cosmopolitan town with a good community group that provide the town with arts, sports and education. It's a quiet town with beautiful ocean views and well worth a visit in 2015.
If you live in or around Gosport, why not subscribe to LBWC blog as I frequently cover local events, things to see and do as well as all local music coverage over at LBW.
Simply leave your email address in the box located in the sidebar and you'll receive an update for my blog features.

KG

LITTLEBEARWOLFCOVE

A man named Mike

They ran so far so fast that when they hit the finish line it wasn't enough, they had trained, hungered, pushed themselves to their limit for what, a photograph in the news and a trophy to gather dust.

Wasn't running alone and enjoying it enough? Did it need to be coated in gold and covered on every newspaper from here to the North? As Mike tied up his trainer he warmed up ready for his early morning run. The air had a stiff chill to it, the ground was covered in patches of ice, he had to be careful not to slip in these conditions or it could bring his dreams crashing to the ground with him.

Mike didn't run for a job, he didn't even want to run for a living, he wanted to run because when he did he felt an immense amount of freedom, a way to let go and to enjoy the few scarce moments of his day that he got to himself. 

People wondered why he didn't enter marathons or train for the Olympics, hell knows he was good enough, but Mike would shrug it off uttering that it would take the heart out of it, if it became something necessary, something that must be done. Something to be achieved to a certain level for glory or praise.

Mike worked hard at his job in the city, he gave to charity, he had good friends and a pet dog. He wasn't a millionaire and he didn't take more than his share from life, he simply lived and loved. People couldn't understand that need to run, even in the ice, they thought it must be working towards something because otherwise why bother.

Mike's dream wasn't to be an athlete, it was to run his own company. He wasn't worried about slipping in ice resulting in a knee injury rendering him unable to run, he was worried about slipping in the ice for fear an injury may stop him from being fit enough to work, meaning he would lose precious time starting and growing his business. He wasn't a workaholic, he was just a man who had found what he wanted to spend his time doing, he wasn't going to let a fear of falling stop him from doing the other things he loved. 

It's easy in life to let the things we want to do stop us from doing the smaller things, for fear they may stop the big thing happening. To live in fear is to not live at all. If anything life is uncertain, sometimes it throws us a life jacket and others a straitjacket. 

There are times when we feel we cannot push forward but we must, it is in those times of trial that we grow ever more resilient and strong. Allow yourself to understand patience for you will need it, be compassionate and understand that your view may not be that of another, it doesn't make one of you wrong, it just means you have differing opinions. Things do not stay the same forever, people, the world and the universe are changing every moment of every day. 

As soon as we are born we are growing yet dying at the same time, we are creatures of comfort and of adventure, we crave variation yet rely on routine. We are the race of irony. 

So don't worry what others are up to, or that you don't really know what you want to do, we are each different and each feel happiness in our own way. 

I don't pretend to understand the world around me, I just try to make sure that each day I am doing something and seeing someone that brings a smile to my face, so that when I look back, the moments of joy are the ones I see. They may be little in size but victory is victory and the smallest can have the largest of reactions.

She's back & she's bringing hell

Imagine a bustling market street, there are stalls lined with colourful vegetables, cakes, a man stands behind a stall of pic'n'mix olives; the street is alive with the sound of chatter, people milling in sections up and down the street, discussing the day, the weather. Notice a girl, she's wearing a trench coat, holding an umbrella up as the rain gently trickles down from the clouds. As people gather under the stalls for cover, she continues to walk through the street, she's got a curious look on her face, as if she's pondering something much deeper than the direction in which she's travelling. She looks smart, her attire is in good condition, her hair is clean and styled, she looks as though she's had a healthy life, she's wearing sparkly jewellery and a lipstick that's bright. As her eye catches yours upon passing, you notice this scene is not what it seems.

Her eyes, they sparkled in the light, but there was a melancholy to them, a story, one you'll probably not be invited to hear, but it's the story that reads out continuously to her.

It threatened to destroy Fantasia, 'the nothing' takes many forms, for this story, we'll call her D.

The girl in the market is me, or at least the character I'm going to become to tell you my story.

I'm filled with uncertainty as I tell you this tale, the fear of not telling it, means certain victory for D.

So here I stand, rain is pouring down and I notice I'm no longer stood in the bustling street, but in the vast expanse of the valley, it's dark, the only light comes from the thousand strong torches that march ever on towards me. The drops of rain splatter onto my armor, there's a cold chill in the air and I grasp my bow, arrow held at the ready. I'm going to die tonight is all I can think, but I have the weapons, all I need do is fight.

I don't remember when I first met D, I'm sure hidden away in a buried deep memory that moment exists, but right now I've no recollection of it. Too many stories, chapters, characters, events and plots have played out for me to be able to place that one for now.

I remember only this, she came in the dark of night, she held my hand when I was alone, she was a faceless whisper that began to haunt my dreams.

Her digs and comments were at first brushed off my smartly worn clothes, she began to eat through the fabrics until her venom burnt my skin. 

I was afraid by this point, but who could I tell, I would only be judged, ridiculed, misunderstood.

So I let her stay, there in the shadow she fed, she grew, until one day as I looked in the mirror, I no longer recognized the girl looking back at me. She was harsher, worn by life, she looked sad and lacking in confidence, passion and spirit. As she stared me down, I felt as though I'd been lost, for years in the wilderness, and by some strange moment of fate, I'd stumbled across my own reflection. Realizing that if I couldn't wake from this dream, it might hold me forever captive.

I came to the horrendous conclusion D was not a faceless whisper, I was her, I was D.

Except I wasn't D, for she is the true temptress, the devil in disguise.

She had cast her enchantment and I had been ensnared by it.

She looked like me, but she wasn't me.

The chill in the air grew stronger and as the army of snarling orcs moved in toward us, I held strong and pulled my arm back, as I released the arrow it shot through the air, graceful like a ballerina but steady like a bullet and caught him or it right between the eyes, he fell to the ground, the few around him moved back a step. 

The howls of the fear reaper's shrieked across the battlefield, I dug my feet down in position and pulled forward my sword.

They're but demons and I am the wizard, the elf, the king whoever I dream of being I am, for I am truly the shape-shifter. I will not be killed here tonight by these demons.

The sound of the street was like an orchestra of noise, stall men yelled their daily offers, old ladies chatter about the spitting rain clung to my ears like the very drops of rain on my favourite trench coat, I was making my way swiftly through market street headed for home, home I wondered, where even is that. Is it the town in which I was born? Is it the city in which I studied? Is it the town in which I live with the man I love? Or perhaps it's the far off shores where my dreams stay blissfully moored while I struggle in the maelstrom to reach them.

I caught my reflection in a window, I am truly lost.

My armor was splattered with blood, only some of my own, I could hear my breaths shorten as I wheezed, the pain in my chest where the Orcish dagger had pierced my armor began to sting as the rain began to clear. The stench of death clung to the air, as I lay there motionless I knew I was victorious. She'd taken her true form as a fear reaper but D was gone, not destroyed but wounded enough for now to keep her back in the territories outside of my immediate kingdom. 

I may not have been able to protect my allies but I had made it through the night, as the sun dawned on the East, I took my last shallow breath.

I rushed into the coffee house out of the pouring rain, my breaths short from running the length of the street, as I closed my umbrella and took off my coat, the barista brought me a cinnamon latte. I'd never much liked Cinnamon as a child but these days I found it to be a particular favourite, along with hazelnut, ginger and pumpkin. I glazed around me, the strangers drinking their coffees and chatting away had no idea who I was, most of them seemed so involved in their moments that they wouldn't have known I even existed. Except I did and I do. 

While I may not always have sunshine's and rainbows, I have the weapons I need to fight. Sometimes we are knocked back by our demons, but with a fell swoop of our swords we are able to knock them back too. 

I don't know if I will ever truly rid D from my life but tonight with the help from my allies, I was able to fight in battle. The war may not be over but tonight I will drink to my friends, my passions and my life, for it may not be glorious or the tale you tell your children, but it is my tale and mine alone to tell.

I find the comfort of loved ones, the study of interests and the comforts of restoration become my weapons for battle when I am weak, when D threatens to consume me. Lately those studies have come to include fighting off the triggers that awaken D. Deep thought, dreams and my compass to navigate this globe of life often bring me dangerously close to awakening her slumber, but facing the fear-reapers I hope is the way to defeat them for good.

I am a word-smith at heart and my words are the blows from my weapons I will unleash to keep the fear-reapers at bay.

Sweet Dreams, 

Aces Kage

Word-smith, Story Weaver, Dragonborn, Hell bringer.